A Night to Remember
by CharlieSwagron
Summary: Definitely AU. Kate attends a ball where she meets Rick, not realizing he's the Prince. This started out as just some one-shot I was doing, but it turned into a multi-chapter story.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters. **

**A/N: This began as just a rambling little piece for myself, but then it grew into something a little bigger and I decided I wanted to share it with you guys. I don't know how long this will be, but it'll be at least a few chapters, maybe more. Any mistakes in this are mine since this isn't betaed. Thanks!**

_Ugh, what have I gotten myself into? Why did I agree to come here tonight? I _hate_ these things,_ Katherine Beckett thought to herself as the carriage came to a halt outside the palace castle. She was dressed in a stunning blue gown that flowed down to her feet. It fit her in all the right places whereas her cousin sitting next to her had one of those dreadful puffed-out dresses on. _God, how can that even be comfortable?_ She knew that by her choice of attire, she would most certainly stand out. Kate couldn't bring herself to care the least bit, though. There was no way in hell she would ever be caught wearing those hideous…things!

Realizing her cousin had said something to her, Kate came back to reality. "I'm sorry, Alissa, what did you say?"

"I said thanks for coming here with me tonight, Kate, even though I know these kind of events aren't really your thing," the other girl told her.

Managing a smile, Kate shrugged and said, "It's not a problem, Alissa. I know you didn't want to go by yourself."

"Still, it was a very generous thing for you to do."

"Don't mention it."

The carriage driver came around to the door and opened it, holding out his hand for one of the ladies to take. Feeling a hand grab his, he helped first Alissa out of the carriage, then Kate. Marveling at the sheer size of castle, Kate found herself slightly impressed.

"C'mon, Kate, don't just stand there," Alissa urged. "Tonight's the Prince's birthday celebration and I don't want to miss anymore than we already have."

Chuckling at her eager cousin, she said, "You do realize that the odds of the Prince choosing _you_ for a bride tonight are slim to none, right?"

"Oh hush, you big pessimist. A girl can dream, can't she?"

"Yes, she can dream, but she must also be careful to not let the fantasy overtake reality."

Alissa rolled her eyes at her older cousin. "Ugh, I don't know why I even bother sometimes."

" 'Cause you love me," came the reply.

"Unfortunately, I do, cousin."

The girls quickly came upon the grand hall where the main part of the celebration was being held. Both were immediately awestruck and stood gaping for a moment at the splendid grandeur with which the hall was decorated. Recovering first, Kate leaned close to whisper in Alissa's ear, "You might want to close your mouth or you'll catch flies." Straightening up, she said, "Besides, you wouldn't want you precious prince to see you like that."

Alissa snapped her mouth shut and said, "Fine, be that way." Pointing to a group of young ladies, she said, "I'll be over there with them. I know you probably hate this, but please just _try_ to have fun. Who knows? Maybe you'll actually enjoy yourself for once." With that she left her cousin standing alone in the entrance to the hall.

Watching the younger woman leave her, Kate decided that she was not going to stand in the middle of the doorway by herself. Finding a niche in the wall, she leaned a shoulder against it and simply observed.

In one corner, there was a group of young men, all staring at a similar group of ladies from across the hall. It looked to Kate like the poor boys were trying to work up the courage to approach them. The middle of the hall was reserved for dancing, and many couples were doing just that. Every lady present was wearing that horrendous puffy, hoop-skirted dress which made Kate want to vomit just from looking at them. She didn't understand what would possess anyone to want to wear those things. She'd tried it on once and would never make the same mistake again. So she wore her slim-fitting, body hugging dresses in lieu of those things.

Her dress tonight was a deep blue and was simple enough. It was made of silk and two thin straps on her shoulders held it in place. It was elegant without being too overbearing, but it was also plain and simple enough without being too casual. She figured for a prince's birthday party, she could've worn something more formal, but it wasn't like he was _her_ prince. This wasn't her kingdom. In fact, she was just visiting her uncle and his family for a few weeks, and was leaving tomorrow, so she hadn't needed to worry about impressing anybody. She had left her hair mostly alone because she thought it was good enough with just her natural chestnut colored curls. Her hazel eyes glanced from person to person, watching, observing.

She had lost track of the amount of time she'd spent in her niche when she felt a presence at her back. Turning slightly, she noticed a young man was standing right beside her. He was tall—nearly half a head taller than her—with brown hair that was cut short for a man at Court. His nose wasn't too large, but it wasn't small either and his mouth was set in a straight line. One eyebrow was raised with polite interest of what was going on in his surroundings. Turning to look at her, she saw he had piercing blue eyes that held a twinkle in them.

Smiling at her, the man said, "Forgive me, my lady, but you seem to have caught my interest."

Quirking an eyebrow, she deadpanned, "Really? And why's that?"

"Well, for one, you're the only one here standing alone. Two, your attire is very…different from that of the other ladies here."

Kate scoffed. "Yes, well, the other ladies here are looking to find a husband in either the Prince or one of the many eager young gentlemen here tonight. I, however, am not."

"Am I permitted to ask why?"

"Because," she said, "I'm merely visiting my cousin for a few weeks."

"So you don't live in Hamptons?" he inquired curiously.

"No, I live—" she cut herself off before she said anything else. Wheeling around to face him, she told him, "Why are you so interested in knowing about me?"

The stranger grinned. "Like I told you, you caught my interest."

Kate let out an un-lady-like snort and said nothing. The two stood in silence for a moment, staring out at the crowd until the man broke it. "I'm Rick, by the way."

Hesitating slightly, she said, "I'm Kate."

"Well, Kate, it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Rick."

"Would you care to dance?"

Startled, Kate took a step back. "I, uh…no."

Caught off guard by her flat out rejection, Rick stammered out, "But, uh, b-but, why not?"

Kate sighed. "Look, Rick, you're a nice guy, but I'm not here to meet someone."

"Oh, c'mon, Kate," he pleaded. "Just one dance."

"No."

"Please."

"Nuh-uh."

"C'mon."

"Nope."

"Why not? Scared you'll like it?" he practically challenged.

Now it was her turn to be taken aback by his response. "Of course not! That's ridiculous."

Rick shrugged. "Well, if you're not scared, then why don't you have one dance with me? You know you'll enjoy it."

Leaning within inches of his face, Kate told him softly, but forcefully, "I won't."

"You will," was the lightning fast reply.

Kate bit her bottom lip in thought. _I guess I could do one dance,_ she said to herself._ What's the harm that could come from one small dance?_

Reaching a final decision, she said, "Alright, fine. I'll dance with you. But if I haven't enjoyed myself by the time it's over, then you have to leave me alone for the rest of the night."

"And if you do enjoy it, you have to accompany me for a stroll in the gardens afterwards," Rick replied.

"Deal."

"Deal."

They shook on it and Rick, still holding Kate's hand, led her onto the dance floor where the musicians had struck up a waltz.

Leading her around the dance floor, Rick began a conversation with her. "So is the fact that you're not meeting someone tonight the _only_ reason you're not wearing one of those puffy dresses? Or is there another reason as well?"

She shook her head. "To be quite honest, I think they look absolutely hideous. They're very unflattering and very uncomfortable. I have not clue as to why anyone would want to wear them. I've tried one on once, and I looked positively horrendous in it."

"Well, I don't know how it's possible for you to look awful in anything," he told her. "You're extremely beautiful."

Gazing into his very blue eyes, Kate saw the sincerity of his words and blushed. "Well…you're quite beautiful too," she teased.

He mockingly gasped and said, "Well, thank you, Miss Kate, for your kind words. Do you know how much make-up I put on every morning just so I can show my face to the world?"

They laughed and Kate actually found herself enjoying his company and the dance.

Twirling her around the dance floor, Rick thought,_ This is the most fun I've had in ages. _

The dance came to an end as the musicians finished their piece. Coming to a halt, Kate found that she was reluctant to let go of the man, but forced her hands off of his body anyway.

"So, Kate," Rick started, "did you enjoy yourself?"

Shaking her head, she said, "You have no tact, do you?"

He shrugged his shoulders up and down. "It kind of runs in the family. You're avoiding the question, though?"

Staring into his expectant eyes, Kate said teasingly, "Maybe."

"Kate!" he whined and pouted.

Rolling her eyes, she exclaimed, "Oh, alright, yes! Yes, I had fun. There are you happy now?" Rick's face lit up like the giant chandelier that was hanging from the ceiling. "So as promised," she gestured in the direction the gardens were in with a great flourish, "lead the way."

Beaming at her, he offered his arm and she took it. "Shall we?" he asked. Leading her out of the hall, both were completely unaware that nearly the entire room had been staring at them.

**Don't judge or criticize too harshly. This started out as something just for me to write, but I decided to share it with you all. Review, Follow, Favorite, do what you will, but I thank you for taking the time to read this.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters.**

**A/N: I was seriously blown away by the response to the first chapter. I can't believe that so many of you really like this. To the question I received from hijackedbycastle regarding the time period of the setting, I didn't really have a specific time in mind. It was just my general thought for it to be in some fantasy land in maybe the Middle Ages.**

**A/N 2: I'm not a botanist or anything like that so I had to look up the meanings of the flowers in this chapter and just choose the meanings that appeared more than once. Any mistakes in this are mine since I don't have a beta for this. Enjoy!**

It was beautiful outside. The nighttime sky was clear and dazzling with millions and millions of shining stars. No one else was around so Rick and Kate had the gardens all to themselves. They were walking slowly down a path that had carnations, in a variety of colors, and gladioli. Stopping here, Kate retracted her arm from Rick's and admired the flowers.

"They're gorgeous," she commented.

"Yes, they are," Rick said while gazing at her. "You know, this palace is said to have some of the most spectacular gardens."

"Really?"

"Yes," he nodded. "There are flowers and plants here from all over and it's quite a wonderful sight." Gesturing to the gladioli that Kate had been examining, he told her, "Did you know that the gladiolus can symbolize strength? Should you receive an entire bouquet from some lucky suitor, it would mean that you've pierced that man's heart with passion."

Kate smiled softly. "I didn't know that. I suppose I don't know much about flowers or their meanings."

"I could tell you more about them as we continue along, if you would like," he offered.

"I would like nothing more." Taking his arm again, they set off down the path with Rick pointing out the names of certain flowers and what they meant—blue hyacinths stood for constancy while white ones stood for beauty; peonies were for prosperity and petunias could either mean resentment or that the person's presence soothes you.

As they were about to round a bend in the path, Rick told her, "This next part of the gardens is my favorite. The first time I saw it, my breath was taken from my body."

When they rounded the bend, Kate halted and gasped suddenly. There, right in front of her, was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. Rose bushes were everywhere. There were red roses, white roses, pink ones, and even orange ones. She saw a few patches of what looked to be lavender colored roses as well. All Kate could do was stand frozen in one spot, gaping at the magnificence in front of her.

Rick, who was grinning at her open-mouthed expression of awe, said, "Why don't we go get a closer look, huh?" It was all the woman could do to close her mouth slightly and nod her answer.

Leading her towards the bushes with the simple red roses on them, he asked her, "Do you know what these mean?"

Finding her voice again, she answered, "Uh, I think so. 'I love you.'"

Raising his eyebrows, he said, "Why, Kate, I'm flattered, but we just met. I hardly know anything about you, though I would like to."

Nudging him with her shoulder, she said, "Maybe later, if you're very good. And I didn't mean that _I_ love you, you egotistical jackass. I meant that _they_," she motioned to the flowers, "mean 'I love you.'"

Rick put a hand over his heart and pouted. "I'm hurt that you would call me such a name, but yes, that's what they mean."

They walked over to the white ones next and she guessed, "They probably mean purity and innocence or something like that. Most white things do."

"You're getting better at this, my young pupil," he teased.

Shaking her head at his ridiculousness, she pointed to a cluster of lavender roses. "What are they supposed to stand for?"

Walking over to them with her, Rick explained, "They mean love at first sight."

Realizing that he was staring at her, Kate's face turned as red as the roses that were many feet behind them. _God, he needs to stop looking at me like that,_ she told herself._ This is _way_ more than I agreed to._

Clearing her throat she took her arm out of his and strolled over to a bush with orange roses decorating it. Touching one lightly, she caressed it softly with her fingers, being wary of the thorns protruding from the stem. "These are wonderful," she said when she heard him come up behind her. "What on earth could they possible stand for."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him reach out a hand feel the petals of another rose. "These symbolize enthusiasm, fascination." He paused briefly. Moving his hand to the one she was caressing, he touched a petal. "Desire," he finished.

Swallowing hard, Kate looked hesitantly up into Rick's clear, blue eyes. They were twinkling as brightly as the stars that were lighting up the sky that night. Holding steady, she locked gazes with his. Neither knew how long they stood like that—bodies inches apart, eyes searching the other's for some hint as to how they should proceed, _if_ they should proceed. Eventually Kate backed down and stared off in another direction.

Clearing his throat, Rick tried to ease the tension by saying, "Shall we continue or do you wish to return to the celebration?"

Kate didn't want to risk the chance of being caught in another incident like the one that had just happened, but she would also hate to have to return to the giant party. Taking a deep breath, she said, "No, we can see more. That is, if _you're_ okay with this. I'm sure there are people inside the castle who are missing you."

"And what makes you say that?" She missed the tone of slight panic in his voice.

She shrugged. "A guy like you has to have a lot of friends, right? You're to charming not to."

Lifting a brow, he said, "Do my ears deceive me? Was that a _compliment_ that just came out of your mouth?"

Her mouth dropped open. Had she said that out loud? Recovering, she told him, "Well, it's not like it isn't true." Turning away from him, she continued down the rose-bush lined path. "And wipe that arrogant smirk off your face before I do it for you!" she called back to him. Grinning even more, he followed her to the bushes filled with yellow and pink roses.

"Pink roses generally show an expression of gratitude or appreciation as well as joy," Rick explained to her. "As you can see, there's light, pale, and deep pink roses and for the most part, they basically mean the same thing." Nodding to the yellows he said, "These one's, however, symbolize friendship and delight."

"I've never seen yellow roses before," Kate informed him. Sweeping her hand out at the rest of the gardens, she went on, "I've never even seen this many roses or flowers in my life. I didn't know half of these even existed."

"Hamptons is known for being extravagant and over the top with many things including celebrations, balls, and the like. People travel here to attend the parties or to see the massive palace, but few ever care to take notice of the amazing gardens that are right in front of them. It's a little sad, but at least it leaves the gardens deserted most times."

Cocking her head to one side, she asked, "Do you come here often?"

"Only when I have a lot on my mind. They're open to all nobles at Court, but it's mostly just me that comes out here." She saw him hesitate for a second before he held out his hand and said, "Come with me."

She stared at the outstretched hand. Slowly, she placed hers in his and let him lead her farther down the path. Coming to the end of the large rose section, he suddenly veered off into the short grass. Passing countless rows of flowers, he came to a halt right before a huge willow tree with it's branches and leaves hanging down to their feet. He turned to her and told her, "This is where I used to come as a child. It's my favorite spot in the garden and virtually no one except myself and maybe three gardeners know it's here." He swept aside some of the branches and led her through the natural barrier. Once inside, she gasped.

To an outsider, the tree would've simply looked like just an ordinary tree. A massive tree, but a regular tree nonetheless. They would simply pass it by without a second glance, thinking that because there were trees all over the gardens, there was nothing special about this one. To anyone who ventured a closer look past the weeping willow branches, they would find a startling discovery. There were flowers of a few different varieties scattered about in the grass. A path that looked like it could fit two people abreast had been cleared and led to a cleared area around the tree trunk. Resting up against the trunk was a bench. Looking beyond the thick trunk, closer to the branches on the opposite side of them, Kate saw a tiny body of water. She didn't know whether to call it an extremely small pond or a puddle due to its size; it was only about five to six feet wide all around.

Rick looked expectantly at her. "Well?" he asked, anxious to hear her opinion.

She smiled and said, "Rick, it's amazing."

Relaxing, he grinned. "Come on." He tugged on her hand and led her to the bench propped up against the tree. There was an unlit lantern hanging by the bench. She didn't see what Rick had taken out of his pocket, but whatever it was caused the lantern to light.

They both sat down on the bench, Kate leaving a respectable amount of distance between them. She was afraid of having a repeat of the orange rose incident. They stayed in a comfortable silence for several moments, both observing their surroundings. It was Rick who broke the silence first.

"When I was young, maybe six or seven, I was taking lessons that I didn't necessarily want to take." The woman beside him, listened intently. "So one day, instead of attending those lessons, I ran off. I found myself in these gardens and didn't really know where I was going. Up until then I had never really been out here all that much. I wandered about for I don't know how long until I came upon this place." He gestured to the tree and said, "This willow was giant even back then. Imagine what it would've looked like to a seven year old." They both chuckled at that. "So I hid out here for the better part of the day, hoping to avoid my lessons. Eventually I was found by one of the gardeners. He found me sitting with my back to this tree trunk, staring thoughtfully at the area around me." He said that people had been looking for me all day and all I told him was that this was a 'pretty place.' and that we should do something about it. He was confused and asked me what I meant. Then I told him the plans I had thought up from just sitting there all day. 'Put a bench here, plant flowers there, cut the grass shorter.' The guy thought I was crazy at first, but I got him to see my way. I helped him and two others fix this spot up. It took us roughly three weeks to do it because I couldn't find time to get here and I didn't want them to do it without me."

"You sound like you were a pretty stubborn and determined child," Kate remarked.

Rick laughed. "Oh, believe me, I was. Ever since then, I've come back here when I need to de-stress and take a breather from things. The gardeners, Keith, Jeffrey, and Albert, are the only ones who take care of this section of the gardens so, obviously, they're the only ones who take care of this place."

"It must be nice to have a place to escape to every once in a while," Kate commented.

"Do you not have a place like that?"

"Not really." She grinned. "And even if I did, my mother would surely find me out in a matter of minutes. She knows me too well."

Rick shared her smile and said, "So, too, does mine. The only reason she can never find me here, though, is because she's _very_ dramatic. The slightest problem can give her a heart attack. God, help us if there happens to be a mouse running loose near her." Kate snorted. They lapsed into a short silence before Rick said, "So, Kate…if I'm not mistaken, you said that you would tell me more about yourself later. Well, it _is_ later and I'm curious about you."

"Okay, one, I never promised anything, I said maybe. Two, I said only if you were good. And three, who says I want to share anything with you?"

Looking at her with pleading eyes, Rick whined, "Aw, c'mon, Kate. That's not fair! I've been good by anyone's standards and I already shared a story with you. Now it's your turn to share something with me. Quid pro quo."

"Quid pro what?" she echoed confusedly.

"Quid pro quo," he repeated. "It means 'this for that' in some old language that we don't really speak anymore." He shrugged. "I learned a while ago."

"Uh-huh," she said. She appeared thoughtful after a beat. _Oh, what's the harm?_ she asked herself. "Alright, fine," she conceded. "But I have the right to not answer any question I don't wish to."

"Deal."

"What do you want to know?"

Rick pondered this for a second then said, "What's your full name?"

"Katherine Houghton Beckett."

He shot her a smile. "That's a beautiful name. Why don't you go by Katherine? I know a lot of women at Court who do."

"You know a lot of women, huh?" she teased. "And I use Kate instead of Katherine because I just like the simplicity better. Too many people nowadays are so caught up in the grandeur and the complexities of life. Why can't they just be simple?"

"So your love of the plain and simple, is mostly what compelled you to wear this dress tonight, right?" he inquired waving a hand at her attire.

"Aaaand we're back to the dress. Why are you so concerned with what I'm wearing? I know many men are extremely shallow and only look for beauty, but you seem overly concerned with my dress."

Rick made a face. "The men at Court wouldn't know how to treat a lady if she was their own sister. But the reason I asked about your dress is because it was the main reason you caught my attention in the first place. I saw you and another lady, whom I presume to be your cousin, walk in the hall and immediately you piqued my interest. And then you just stood off to the side against the wall. You intrigued me. I kept asking myself 'Why was this gorgeous lady standing by herself? Why is she so different than the others here?'"

"Some people might say that being different is a bad thing," Kate pointed out.

"I don't know why. You're different yet I can find nothing bad about you. From what I can tell so far, you're absolutely…extraordinary," he said.

For the hundredth time tonight, Kate felt a blush rise up on her cheeks. _How does he keep doing this? Get a hold of yourself, Kate!_ she scolded herself. She looked over at him and found that he was staring at her with such an intensity that she couldn't look away. _Damn it, _she thought. _Not again._

She didn't know who began leaning towards whom first, but suddenly she found her face in very close proximity with his. They were inches apart when Kate glanced down at his lips. _He's going to kiss me. He's going to kiss me, and I won't stop him,_ she realized. Glancing back up, she saw that his eyes had gotten darker with want. Making up her mind, she closed her eyes and leaned in farther to close the gap that separated their lips when….

"Your Highness!" a voice called from just outside the willow branches.

The two sprang apart like startled rabbits and an older man came bursting through the branches. He doubled over panting, trying to catch his breath. Straightening up, he spotted Rick and Kate sitting on the bench and said, "I beg your pardon, Prince Richard, my lady, but they've been looking for you, your Highness."

Kate stood up abruptly, a bewildered expression on her face. "Wait a minute. 'Your Highness'?" she repeated. Facing the man beside her, she said, "What does he mean by 'your Highness'?"

Rick got to his feet, stammering and stuttering. "Well, you, uh, you see I-um. I'm-uh—"

"You're the Prince?!" Kate yelled.

"Uh…yeah," he told her meekly.

"When were you going to tell me this?" she demanded. "Or were you just not going to tell me at all?"

"I—"

"You were just going to string me along tonight, and hope I didn't figure out who you were, right?" she accused.

"No! I—"

"And then you were just going to leave me and never plan on seeing me again," she interrupted.

"That's not true—" he tried to say.

Kate wouldn't listen, though. "Save it," she snapped. Gathering part of her dress in her hands, she wheeled around and ran out from under the cover of the willow tree.

Startled by her sudden departure, Rick was frozen for a second. Regaining his wits about him, he took off after her, leaving the confused gardener, who had been sent to fetch him, behind. When he emerged from the thick curtain of tree branches and ran out onto the path he and Kate had strolled down earlier, he found no sight of her. His second of delay had been one second too long. Sprinting back down the way they had come, Rick found himself at the entrance to the grand hall where his birthday celebration was taking place. Running inside, he searched frantically for any trace of Kate. Several people stared at him oddly, wondering what was going on, but he ignored them. Immersing himself into the crowd, he discovered, was a huge mistake. Many came up to him to shake his hand or bow to him and offer their best birthday wishes. Forcing a smile on his face, he continued his search.

Glancing to his far left, he finally spotted her. She was quickly making her way to the doors with a lady whom he was unable to see, he assumed it was her cousin. She was leaving! Rick tried to reach her, but just as he took a step toward her, a group of young ladies crowded around him, all trying to speak to him at once. There was no polite way to shake them loose. He was stuck. He saw Kate look back, scanning the room swiftly until her eyes landed on him. Their gaze held for a moment before Kate blinked and began walking away again.

He tried calling out to her, but the musicians had just struck up a particularly loud piece and he was too far away from her. Rick stared after her until she had left and he could no longer see her. She was gone. He didn't even know how to find her because he hadn't asked the one question that had been burning in his mind all night. _Where do you live?_

**So there's the second chapter. I hoped you like it and the next one will be out fairly soon. Thank you for reading this!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or the characters.**

**A/N: A big thanks to those of you who review/followed/favorited. Any mistakes in here are mine as this isn't betaed. I can't believe I have a third chapter out of what this began as. So here it is. Enjoy!**

Rick was laying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Three weeks. It had been three weeks since he'd last seen her. Kate. The mysterious enigma. The rainbow trout in a sea full of salmon. Everyone acting the same, looking the same. And then she came along and turned everything upside down for him, even if they'd only known each other for a few hours. He sighed loudly. He'd been trying ever since his birthday party to find out if anyone knew her. More specifically he was trying to find out where she lived so that he could talk to her and explain himself. But his inquiries and search had proved fruitless so far.

A knock sounded on his door. "Go away," he ordered.

"Richard, it's your mother," the voice on the other side of the door called out.

_ Great, now I have to let her in or she have someone break down the damn door,_ he thought. Exhaling, he rolled his body over and off the bed before walking to his door, unlocking it, and standing aside. He knew she'd hear the lock.

And hear it she did, for mere seconds after he took the bolt off, she came bursting through the door, her robes sweeping behind her. His mother, Queen Martha. "Richard, why are you holing yourself up like this when it's such a beautiful day outside?" she asked. He shrugged his shoulders and went to sit back on the bed. Looking at him disapprovingly, she continued, "This is no way for a prince to behave. You're acting like a sullen child who's had his toys taken away. You've been acting like this for weeks now. What's the matter with you?"

Rick refused to answer his mother. He stayed silent, staring at the floor.

"Does it have anything to do with that girl from your birthday celebration a few weeks ago?" she ventured a guess. He stiffened and she noticed. She always noticed. "Ah, so it does. What happened, Richard?"

"Nothing, Mother," he replied. "Nothing happened."

"That's a lie and you and I both know it," she retorted. "Tell me what happened," she demanded softly.

Reluctantly, Rick gave in and told Martha everything that had transpired that fateful night. "Now, she hates me," he concluded. "I don't even know where she lives so that I can go see her. It's just not fair, Mother!"

Sighing, Martha sat on the bed next to her son and held his hands in both of hers. "Most times, life isn't fair. But, Richard, things like this happen and all you can do is move on from it. There's nothing else to do. What you _can_ do, though, is stop moping around and pouting like a toddler. You can't stay in your room, dreaming about what could've been forever."

"I wish I could," he told her. "I just don't know if I can get over her as easily as you say, Mother," he admitted. "When we were dancing, there was this instant connection. I know she felt it too. I felt it again when we were out in the gardens."

Martha saw her son smile. She was surprised to see it was a genuine smile. For the past few months, he had been unhappy and rarely expressed his joy. But at his celebration, she saw him truly enjoy himself for the first time in ages. Martha may be older, but she wasn't blind. His happiness that night stemmed from that girl who'd had him so enraptured.

"Unfortunately, son, there's nothing you can do. She's gone and you don't know if you'll ever see her again."

"I know," he said softly. Exhaling deeply, he looked out of the window to his left. "I guess I should stop being such a hermit, then."

His mother beamed at him and said, "Yes, you should. You should also begin packing your things for your trip to York next week." She stood up with a groan, saying, "Oh, I'm getting to old."

Standing up beside her, Rick told her, "And yet you still look as beautiful as the day you and Father got married."

"How would you know?" she asked him. "You weren't around yet."

"Accept the compliment, Mother," he commanded.

Chuckling, she made her way to the door. Stopping there, she turned around and said, "Richard?" He looked at her. "You're a good man. Any woman would be lucky to have you."

Cracking a smile, he responded, "Thank you, Mother."

She waved her hand and walked out the door, shutting it behind her.

Laying back on his bed, Rick contemplated what his mother had just told him. She was a very wise lady most of the time and he usually listened to her. Although this time, he didn't think he could. How could even think about trying to forget and move on from Katherine Beckett?

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Johanna Beckett was worried about her daughter. Before Kate had gone to visit their relatives in Hamptons, she had been a vibrant, lively woman who laughed and told jokes. But ever since she had returned home nearly four weeks ago, the laughter had stopped. Her Katie looked miserable. Being her daughter, though, Kate had refused to talk about what had happened over her visit. That much was clear to Johanna, though. _Something_ had most definitely happened while her daughter was away from home.

Johanna climbed the stairs to the second floor of their home and made her way down the hallways to Kate's room. She tried the door and it was locked. It was always locked nowadays. She rapped on the wooden door softly and called out, "Katie? It's me, your mother. Open up, sweetheart."

She waited a minute before she knocked again. "Kate, please open the door. Your father and I are very worried about you."

After a long pause, Johanna finally heard the rustling of cloth and the soft padding of feet that signaled her daughter had gotten out of bed and was about to unlock her door. When she did so, the older woman walked into her daughter's room and sat down on the bed that Kate had climbed back into.

"Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" she asked.

Kate said nothing.

"Come on, Katie. Tell me what happened when you visited Alissa and her family."

"Nothing happened, Mom," was the response.

"Don't lie to me, young lady. Something happened and I want to know what it was. It was obviously something significant if you're here laying in bed instead of outside, socializing with all your friends."

"I don't _have_ friends, Mom."

"Yes, you do. What about Javier and Kevin? What about Lanie?"

"Well, fine, I have them, but I don't want to socialize."

"And why not?" Johanna asked her daughter.

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Because I'm not feeling like it."

"Why aren't you feeling like it?"

"Because," Kate said, her frustration with her mother boiling up.

"Because why?" she repeated again.

"Because I feel like I can't trust anyone anymore, Mom!" Kate exploded. She sat up in bed and yelled, "I trusted someone when I visited Alissa and they betrayed me! They lied to me and didn't tell me the truth! I hate him! I don't even wanna think about him! I don't ever wanna see him again, but the truth is, is that I can't stand to be apart from him!"

Johanna was silent for a long time. Finally she spoke. "So this is about a boy, then?"

"Yes, it's about a boy," Kate snapped. "_Prince_ Richard from Hamptons to be exact!'

"And what did he do?"

"He lied to me! He didn't tell me he was a prince," she replied.

Johanna looked at her daughter. "Is that all?"

"What do you mean 'Is that all'? Isn't that horrible enough?"

To Kate's embarrassment, her mother began laughing. "Why're you laughing, Mom? This isn't funny!" she insisted.

"No, no, of course it isn't," Johanna said in between fits of laughter. "But, sweetheart, it's not like he told you he was king of some distant land just to make you like him. What he did—not telling you that he was the Prince—yes, that's bad, but it's not the end of the world. Yet here you are, acting like it is because a man practically threw himself at you, but didn't tell you he was royalty."

Kate blushed. "He didn't throw himself at me."

Johanna quirked an eyebrow up. "Mmhmm. Alright then, tell me what happened. From the beginning, and don't leave anything out."

Once Kate had finished sharing her story, her mother looked at her sympathetically. "Katie, sweetheart, I hate to say this, but that man_ was_ almost throwing himself at you."

"No, he wasn't!" Kate insisted.

"Dear, the only way he could make his affections any clearer was if he asked you to marry him right then and there."

"Mom!"

"Don't, 'mom' me, young lady," Johanna scolded. "You've been moping around and being completely miserable for the past four weeks and now I finally know why. It was about a boy," she teased.

"Please, stop," Kate begged, the flush returning to her cheeks.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop," Johanna conceded. After a silent minute, she turned back to her daughter and asked, "So…was he cute?"

"Oh my God! Mom!" Kate screamed. She grabbed her pillow and whacked her mother on the back with it. "Just leave!"

As Johanna stood up, she reminded Kate, "Remember that we have to go to Court tomorrow along with all the other noble families. King Robert will be greeting a special guest."

"Yeah, yeah. Can you go now?" Kate asked.

"Yes, I'll go now." Johanna made her way out of Kate's room, and Kate could hear her mother's laughter all the way down the hallway, which of course, did nothing to ease the slight guilty feeling stirring in her gut that perhaps her mother was right.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

The next day, the entire Court of York was gathered in the grand hall of the palace. The King was expecting a visitor today and everyone wanted to know who it was. They stood in two sections, one on each side of the grand hall, between the entrance and the thrones were the King and Queen would sit. They left a wide path in the middle for the visitor to walk down when he arrived. Women were dressed in their finest clothes, jewelry hanging off every inch of them. Men, too, had their best on and were eagerly awaiting the arrival the mystery guest. Rumors had been floating around that it was a very rich and young, eligible bachelor who would be looking for a wife sometime in the near future. As a result, the younger ladies of the Court had never dressed finer in their lives. Their mothers hovered around them, fussing over their appearance in hopes to catch this man's eye. One young lady, however, was not partaking in what she saw as an unnecessary preparation.

Kate Beckett stood with her mother and father, James, or Jim as he like to be called, near the thrones. They were a few rows back from them, but otherwise had an amazing view. They stood on the outside of their section, right next to the path, the nobles had created.

Kate was wearing a dress, not unlike the one she'd worn at Rick's birthday party a month ago, except this one was blue; it was purple. She'd insisted that her mother not touch her hair and left it the way it dried from her washing: in small waves that fell down to her upper back and breasts. Observing the people around her, she couldn't believe what she was seeing._ People over think things _way_ too much,_ she thought to herself.

Suddenly a hush descended upon the crowd as a herald announced the arrival of the King and Queen. They approached their thrones and sat down as everyone else either bowed or curtsied as low as they could. When King Robert nodded his head, the herald once again announced the arrival of another person. Had Kate actually been paying attention, she would've heard the name. Be that as it may, she wasn't and thus failed to recognize who the guest was.

She heard whispering all around her. They were saying things like, "My, isn't he handsome" and "I hope he'll choose _me_ to marry him. Why wouldn't he?" Staring off into the distance, she didn't realize that the guest had spotted her. Suddenly, she heard a voice call out, "Kate?!"

Snapping back to reality, Kate finally looked at the mystery guest. Shocked, she was unable to stop herself. "Rick?!"

**I hoped you enjoyed the third chapter. I was up until two in the morning writing this part so forgive me if it felt lacking or horrible or anything like that. Any reviews, favorites, or follows are always appreciated. Your support means a lot.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters**

**A/N: Thank you to those of you who reviewed/followed/favorited or even just read the last chapter. I don't know why, but this was my toughest one to write so far. I hope you like it and remember, any mistakes found in here are all my fault. Happy reading!**

**A/N 2: DArcy.28 asked me whether or not I was going to have Kate lose a family member or have Rick be a proficient writer like in the show. For the first part, no Kate won't lose a family member. As for the second part, I might have Rick write in his spare time or something like it. I haven't decided just yet if I'll include that.**

What the hell was going on? One minute, Rick had been walking towards the King and Queen in order to greet them and the next, he was standing in the middle of the makeshift aisle, staring at the woman whom he'd been dreaming about for the past month. Realizing that they had caused a scene, and that he was being very rude to the monarchs, he quickly snapped his attention back to the thrones and resumed walking. Upon reaching them, the Prince bowed and said, "My apologies for the scene I cause, your Majesties. I was momentarily stunned to have recognized…an old friend." The King nodded his head in acceptance and then greeted the younger man properly.

While Rick had recovered remarkably fast, Kate, however, had not. She was gaping at him with her brow furrowed in confusion. _What is he_ doing_ here?_ she asked herself. She sensed the many stares everyone was sending her and shifted uncomfortably. _God, can this just be over already?_ she begged.

After pleasantries were exchanged between the three royals, the King stood up and announced, "There will be a ball held tomorrow night, in honor of our very special guest. You may disperse and go back to your homes now, should you choose."

The gathered crowd knew a dismissal when they heard one and all either bowed or curtsied again before scattering about. Many young women tried to approach Rick, but his focus was on one particular lady who was trying to bid a hasty retreat.

Kate knew the moment the King dismissed them, Rick would be after her quick as lightning. Tugging on her mother and father's arms, she urged, "Let's go. Now."

Her father cast a puzzled look in her mother's direction, but Johanna shook her head and mouthed, "Not now."

Once outside, Kate practically threw her parents in their carriage and climbed in herself. Out of her window, she saw Rick running after her, calling her name. As the carriage lurched into movement, Kate glimpsed him cease his chase and stare at her with sad eyes. She looked down at her hands sitting in her lap. This too closely resembled her departure from his palace merely four weeks ago. She felt sick.

As soon as the carriage drew to a halt outside her home, Kate didn't even wait for the driver to come around and open up the door. She thrust it open and ran straight into her room, slamming the door and locking it. Throwing herself on her bed, she curled into a ball and cried.

Still outside of their home, Jim and Johanna Beckett could only watch as their daughter nearly stumbled over herself trying to get inside. Jim turned to his wife and asked, "What's going on? What wrong with Katie and how do her and Prince Richard apparently know each other?"

Johanna sighed, took one of her husband's hands and stepped out of the carriage. "Not here, dear. Let's go inside and I'll explain there."

The two went to a living room and sat down on the couch. Once a maid had brought them tea to drink, Johanna began the long explanation of what had happened over the course of their daughter's visit to Hamptons. When she finished, Jim Beckett whistled softly. "Poor, Katie."

"I know," Johanna said.

Jim looked thoughtful. "You know, though, while her anger is understandable, he's not entirely at fault here. She never asked and he never told. Whether he intentionally didn't tell her or it just slipped his mind is a question only he can answer."

"You and I both know this, Jim, but Kate, unfortunately is too stubborn to see reason."

"The way you described it, Jo, it sounded like he was ready to pop the question," Jim remarked.

His wife laughed and said, "I told Katie that he was practically throwing himself at her and he probably was going to ask her to marry him."

Jim grimaced and told her, "I don't really want to think about our daughter getting married just yet."

"Jim, she's 22," Johanna said dryly.

"Well, I know _that, _but that doesn't mean I want to marry her off just yet," he exclaimed.

"You do realize that most of the young ladies at Court are already married and the ones who aren't are no older than 19, right? The only reason, Kate's not married is because she's lucky enough to have parents who aren't going to force her into a marriage with some rich snob or moron."

Jim sighed, "I know. I just don't want her to grow up and stop being my little girl. I want her to go back to thinking that boys are gross."

His wife stood up and smoothed the wrinkles in dress. Walking off in the direction of the staircase, she called over her shoulder, "Oh, stop wallowing in your old age. Our daughter is grown up. You should be too."

Jim chuckled quietly to himself as he watched her ascend the staircase. How had he gotten so lucky as to be married to such a wonderful woman?

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Kate's crying had dwindled down to small sniffles. Her face was a red, teary mess and her hair had been mussed and her dress was now rumpled. She was rolling over on her side when she heard a knock on her door.

"Kate, sweetheart, are you alright?" her mother asked.

"Go away," Kate cried out.

"Katie, let me in." Silence. After a few minutes, Kate heard a sigh. "Okay, fine. Hide away in your room. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help you, okay?" The sound of footsteps signaled her mother's retreat.

Clutching her pillow close to her chest, the girl began sobbing all over again.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Rick sat at a desk in the guest room that he'd been given in the palace. His head was in his hands and he was exhausted. After watching gloomily as the carriage holding Kate drove off into the distance, Rick had put on a brave front, and a smile, and strode over to the King and Queen again. They had instructed a servant to show him his rooms and then they'd given him the grand tour of the palace. And by grand tour, he meant they'd shown him _everything_. He didn't think he wanted to leave him bedroom ever again!

It was well after the evening meal and he didn't know what to do. He'd left his companions to finish their own meals shortly after his was done, citing the long journey from Hamptons to York had left him extremely tired and he was going to sleep. Unfortunately, though, sleep didn't come easily to him. He was constantly assaulted with thoughts of _her,_ the woman he'd never actually thought he'd see ever again. But there she was, looking absolutely gorgeous in her purple dress. The resemblance to the one she had worn at his birthday party didn't slip past him. She had looked horrified and shocked to see him standing right before her. How had they gone from nearly kissing under starlight to her not being able to stand his presence?

_ Oh, that's right,_ he thought, _I'm an idiot._ Sighing deeply, he took his head out of his hands and ran one over his face. _I need to see her. But where does she live?_ Standing abruptly, he grabbed his cloak off his bed and ran out of the room. He had some inquiries to make.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

About an hour later, Rick found himself on the doorstep to a giant house. It's sheer size could almost have it considered for castle status. After asking a dozen servants and maids, who knew everything thing about everyone at Court, he finally got the directions to the Beckett house. Realizing that he was shaking slightly, he took a steadying breath, attempting to calm his nerves. _It's now or never,_ he thought. Knocking on the door, he waited for a tense moment. At last, someone came to the door and opened it. Seeing who it was he started to say, "Ka—" before the door was slammed back in his face.

Desperate, Rick knocked again and called out, "Kate! I know you're there. I just want to talk. Give me a chance to explain myself." Nothing. "C'mon, Kate, at least open the door."

He was met with silence again. Rick knew that she wasn't going to budge. At least he hadn't heard her move from the other side of the door. He still had a chance to make things right, to explain.

"Kate," he began softly, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't tell you who I really was. I'm sorry you had to find out the way you did. Mostly, I'm sorry for making you feel angry and upset. It was never my intention to make you think that I was just going to use you for entertainment for one night. The truth is, those few hours we spent together were the most fun I've had in years. You brought me joy and happiness and I threw it all away. But, Kate…what would you've done if I'd told you I was the Prince? Would you've stayed and continued to share my company, or would you've run like you did? I was too scared of finding out which one it would be, so I didn't tell you. I didn't want to lose the closest thing I'd had to a true friend, someone who saw me for me. I don't want your sympathy nor do I expect it; you're too stubborn to give it to me.

"And I could stand here and say I'm sorry over and over again until my face is as blue as that beautiful dress you wore a month ago, but I won't." He bent down and placed the flowers he was carrying in front of the door. Straightening, he cleared his throat and said, "I hope you at least understand why I made the decision I did. I never meant to hurt you and I hope you can one day forgive me." He made his way down the short stairs, mounted the horse he'd borrowed from the palace stables, and trotted away, sparing a mournful glance back at the house.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Leaning back against the door for support, Kate held back her tears. She had honestly not expected him to show up at her doorstep in the middle of the night just to apologize to her. She waited until she was certain he had gone before she carefully opened the door. There, laying at her feet, were flowers he had brought with him. Purple hyacinths. He hadn't had to teach her what those meant for she already knew. _I'm sorry._

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

The next night, Kate found herself caught between a rock and a hard place. She didn't want to go to the celebration at the palace tonight because she didn't want to see Rick. On the other hand, she couldn't _not_ go as it would be considered blatantly rude and insulting to the King and Queen. Sighing, Kate dragged herself out of bed and called for her maid to help her get ready.

The older maid went through Kate's wardrobe and finally picked out a strapless, navy blue dress that laced up the back. Kate suppressed a laugh at the thought of the other nobles' stares. It was unusual to see someone in a strapless dress. Most women at Court didn't have the breasts or the curves to hold up something like that. Kate, however, had both. Once she'd put on the dress, she sat down so the maid could do her hair. She normally wore it down, but tonight, she decided, she would wear it up in a tight, but slightly messy bun. Putting on some light eye makeup, she stood back and admired herself in the mirror. _Well,_ she thought,_ if I'm gonna be forced to attend this party, I'm going to look good._

She met her mother and father downstairs in the foyer. When they saw her, they both smiled.

"You look gorgeous, Katie," Johanna told her.

"Thanks, Mom."

"Are my two ladies ready to go?" Jim asked his wife and daughter.

They walked out into their small courtyard and climbed into the carriage.

In no time they had arrived at the palace. Kate stared anxiously at the entrance, licking suddenly dry lips. Her parents noticed her behavior and Johanna reached for her hand. Snapping her attention to them, her mother spoke. "Kate, your father and I talked it over and we both agreed that we'll stay for maybe an hour and then if, at any time after that, you want to leave, we will."

"Just say the word, Katie, and we'll be on our way home within minutes," her father added.

She smiled gratefully at them. "I appreciate what your both trying to do for me and I'll keep that in mind." Then she got out of the carriage.

They made their way inside, Johanna and Kate on each of Jim's arms. A herald was standing by the entrance to the grand hall, announcing the arrival of each person that showed up. There were several people in front of them, so they waited patiently in line. But as the line got shorter and shorter, Kate's nerves returned full-force. She chewed on her bottom lip until it was their turn to be announced.

"Lord James Beckett, Lady Johanna Beckett, and Lady Katherine Beckett!" the herald shouted so loudly it echoed throughout the room.

Cringing as her name was said, Kate made her way into the hall. She didn't have to wonder about whether he had noticed her or not. He had. She could feel his eyes on her.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Rick was currently speechless. He'd been anxiously waiting to see if she would actually come tonight. When he'd heard the herald yell out her arrival, he'd quickly turned his attention toward the entrance just in time to see her before she disappeared into the crowd. She was absolutely…breathtaking! Rick thought that she'd looked like an angel before, but now, she was a goddess. He found himself unable to move from his position even though he would've loved nothing more than to go to her. Deciding to give her some space for a little while, the man refocused on the people surrounding him, more specifically the young ladies and their mothers who refused to let him be.

All these women could talk about was marriage and money and power. Frankly, he was bored out of his mind. He wanted to enjoy himself and that just wasn't possible when surrounded by buzzards like these. Politely excusing himself, he went over to join a group of young gentlemen who were having an intense conversation about racing horses. It was intriguing, but soon enough, Rick found his thoughts wandering to a certain hazel-eyed brunette and he zoned out. Realizing the men were looking at him expectantly, he asked, "I'm sorry, I must've been distracted. What did you say?"

"I _said_, does your Highness race horses back home, or no?" a short, darker-skinned man asked. Rick was pretty sure his name was Javier.

"You can call me 'Rick,' you know. I'm not a big fan of the royal title."

"Well, do you…Rick?" a blue-eyed man named Kevin asked.

"Uh, yeah, of course I race. My mother frowns upon it, but that's only because she thinks one day, I'm going to fall and break my neck," Rick mocked.

The others laughed and Kevin inquired, "How do you manage to find a horse tall enough for you ride?"

It was a legitimate question and to be honest, Rick_ did _have some difficulty finding horses that could accommodate his tall figure. The Prince shrugged. "It _is_ a tad bit challenging, I'll admit, but we manage to always find something. I'm sure _you_ and Javier have no trouble finding horses, though. Hell, you could even ride ponies," he teased.

The few other men who were gathered around held their sides as they snorted and laughed. Javier scoffed and smiled while Kevin just muttered, "Shortness runs in the family."

Javier nodded his head in acceptance. "You're alright, Rick. For a prince, that is."

"Thank you, I think," he responded. Off to the side, he could see Kate leaning a shoulder up against the wall, paying attention to everything yet nothing at the same time. Deciding it was time to confront her, he said, "If you'll excuse me, gentlemen," and went to approach her.

Coming up behind her, he took a deep breath and recalled the first words he'd ever spoken to her. "Forgive me, my lady, but you seem to have caught my interest."

Seeing her body stiffen at the sound of his voice, his courage quickly dissipated. _What if she runs away again?_ he thought. Ever so slowly she turned around, but would not look him in the eye.

"What do you want, your Highness?" she asked coldly.

Taken aback by the use of his royal title and her tone of voice, he stuttered out, "I just, uh…I just want to talk to you."

She raised an eyebrow. "And why should I let you?"

"Because," he replied, "I know you were on the other side of that door last night. I know you heard me. Just give me a chance." She was silent, staring at him with calculating eyes. "Please," he begged.

"Fine," she reluctantly agreed.

Feeling giddy, Rick couldn't contain the wide smile that appeared on his lips. "Thank you, thank you so much, Kate. You won't regret this."

"I already do," she deadpanned.

Not letting that deter him, he asked her, "Would you like to go outside? Perhaps on a walk around the courtyard?"

Sighing reluctantly, she agreed. Grabbing her hand, Rick led her through the crowd and out into the courtyard. With his back to her, he completely missed the small smile that appeared briefly on Kate's face.

**Thanks for reading this. Feel free to review, favorite, or follow if you wish to.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters.**

**A/N: I apologize for making you all wait this long for an update, but I had to work on my high school senior project before I could write again. And a huge thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, or followed this. This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write so I hope you like it.**

Weaving through the crowd proved a little challenging with how many people were in their way. Some were dancing while others simply tried to approach Rick in hopes of becoming the object of his attention. Unfortunately for them, the Prince's mind was set on making it to the courtyard without being interrupted. Not caring if he was being rude, Rick, for the most part, brushed past everyone who tried to engage him. What should've been only a minute long walk outside, ended taking them ten minutes instead.

Once they were alone outside, Rick let go of Kate's hand. He, instead, offered his arm to her, but she rejected it and walked on without him. Deflating slightly, Rick followed closely behind her.

The palace courtyard was magnificent. It was a large, circular area, and the stone tiles beneath their feet formed intricate designs. The area was lit with dozens of lanterns that were hanging in various places and several benches were off to the sides. In the middle of the courtyard, though, stood a marvelous fountain. It was currently active and there was a ledge around it for people to sit on if they chose. Should they opt not to sit on the fountain, there was a bench sitting at the front of it.

Rick found himself in awe of the fountain's beauty and, of course, of the beauty walking ahead of him. The two strolled around the courtyard slowly, Kate keeping a careful distance between them. She may have agreed to talk to him, but that didn't mean they were back to the companionableness they once had. Rick had no idea where to start and was quite reluctant to break the silence that had encompassed them. So instead, he studied the woman at his side out of the corner of his eye.

She looked stunning. To be fair, every time he's seen her so far, she's always been that way. Her eyes seemed to be staring off into nothing as they walked and her face appeared to be relaxed despite the current tension that was floating between them. Her delicate hands were linked behind her back, just like his were. It was she who broke the silence first.

"You can stop staring at me any day now, Rick."

He hadn't realized he was being so obvious. "I wouldn't call it 'staring,' my lady. Try admiring," he replied with his signature charming smile.

"Oh, so we're back to this 'my lady' stuff, are we?" she asked.

"I don't know. I thought we were," was his response.

For the first time that night, Kate looked at him. She could see a deep sadness and hurt in his eyes that he wasn't even trying to mask.

"Watch out," he warned and tugged on her arm, pulling her to him. She had almost run straight into a bench! Now _that_ would've been completely embarrassing. Unfortunately, Rick's tug had caught Kate off guard and she tripped over her own feet as he pulled her back. She felt herself fall forward and thought that she would end up face-planting on the ground. However, she soon noticed that two strong arms had wrapped around her, catching her before she fell. She could feel the front of her body pressed up against his and she immediately froze, suddenly incapable of any movement whatsoever.

_ Oh God,_ she thought. _What do I do?_ Glancing up at him, she saw that he was gazing at her with his very blue eyes. _Big mistake, Kate,_ very_ big mistake,_ she scolded herself. Rick's pupils had now dilated to the point where his eyes looked entirely black. His mouth was slightly open and she could feel his breath coming out in small puffs on her face. He began leaning in. His eyelids fluttered shut and all Kate could think was, _God yes, please._

Just as their lips were about to touch, though, Kate came back to herself. _What am I doing?_ Putting a hand on his chest, she gently pushed back a few inches. "We can't," she told him. Untangling from his grip, she took a few steps away from him.

"I'm apologize, Kate," he said. "I don't know what came over me."

"You're not the only one," she mumbled to herself. She shook her head over her own stupidity for almost allowing him to kiss her. Neither one of them said anything, both able to feel the tension rising again.

After several long, uncomfortable moments, Kate said, "You dragged me out here to talk to me, so go ahead. Talk"

Rick looked offended. "I hardly believe there was any dragging involved."

She scoffed. "Are you kidding me? You just grabbed my hand and nearly tore it off in your attempt to come out here. I had to practically run just so I wouldn't end up on the ground!"

"It's not _my_ fault you can't keep up, Kate," he replied.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Oh, trust me, Rick. I could keep up with you anytime, anywhere. It's _you_ that wouldn't be able to keep up with me."

Taking a couple steps closer to her, Rick lowered his voice as he said, "Oh, I'm certain that I could." He bent down to put his mouth close to her ear. "Maybe one day, we'll find out."

She shuddered visibly. The innuendo of their conversation was most definitely _not_ lost to her. His tone of voice and the way he was looking at her did nothing to quell the sudden desire that was coursing through her veins. _Get a hold of yourself, Kate! Now's not the time to be thinking about that kind of stuff._

This time, Rick was the one to pull away, a satisfied smirk set in place on his lips. Turning away from her, he strode toward the fountain, trying to contain the images that had suddenly appeared in his head of him and her—together—with her writhing underneath him—

_ No!_ he screamed internally. _Bad, Rick, don't lose focus of why you came out here._ Swallowing hard, he concentrated on his original mission: getting Kate to accept his apology. They may be back to bantering lightly, but he needed to hear it. He needed to hear her say that she forgave him.

Seeing her come up next to him, he said, "You know, when I was a child, I never wanted to be the Prince."

She stiffened, realizing that this conversation was about to get serious, and fast.

"I always hated being royalty," he continued. "People treat you differently, like your something other than human. I hated that; I still do. It doesn't matter who that person is, they always act differently around you. They're careful about what they say, thinking before they speak, always using your title, 'your Highness' or 'your Majesty.'" He shook his head. "I never wanted a life like that. One where you have to watch every step you take, what you say to whom and how you behave. That's not living, that's a cage. I wasn't lying to you when I told you that story of how I ran away from my lessons once. After that day, I used to do it all the time. It wasn't until I was about fifteen that I stopped acting like a child and merely accepted that things weren't going to change and I was stuck as Prince." He sat on the ledge of the fountain, his hands clasped between his legs. "I've been miserable ever since.

"When people think of royalty, they only see the riches and the power. They don't realize how lonely you are. Everyone tries to be your 'friend,' but none of them truly care about you. They just want to say, 'Hey, everybody, I raced horses with the Prince yesterday,' or 'Look, this is my friend, the Prince.' They only care about the title, not the person, and honestly it gets extremely tiring. I began to think that everyone was the same. No one, but my mother and father, would ever actually give _me_ the time of day. Just _the Prince_. Then," he looked up at her. "I met you."

Kate had been standing a couple feet away from him during his entire speech. She found her anger at him slowly diminishing with each word he said. He looked like someone had just kicked his puppy.

Rick gave her a small smile. "I saw you from across the room and instantly knew that I had to meet you; I had to know who you were. You acted like you didn't want me around, at first, and I remember thinking, 'Who is this remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating woman?' and why isn't she fawning all over me?"

Kate rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, please, like you needed me to fawn all over you. I may not have known that you were the Prince, but it didn't take a genius to see that you were totally used to women throwing themselves at you. Never would it have crossed your mind that a girl could reject your advances."

Rick laughed. "You _did_ throw me for quite a loop there when we first met. I was definitely _not_ expecting flat out rejection. It was one of the things that made me interested in you even more."

Sighing, Kate sat down next to Rick on his right side. "So basically what you're saying is that you didn't tell me you were royalty because you didn't want me to treat you differently like everyone else?"

Blinking at the switch in topics, Rick nodded his head once.

"Jesus, Rick, did it ever cross your mind that maybe I wouldn't have done that? Maybe I would've just shrugged and said, 'That's great, can we move on now?'" Kate said exasperated.

"Of course I thought that was a possibility!" Rick said, his voice raised a notch. "But which one was I supposed to pick? A blossoming friendship with secrets or possibly screwing it all up for good?! I needed to pick one and so I went for what I thought was the safest choice. Am I proud of it? No. Am I proud that I caused you pain and upset over it? No. Am I absolutely, positively sorry for it? Yes." He reached over and took her hands in his. "Kate, I'm sorry. _Believe me_, I'm sorry. I don't care if I have to spend the rest of my days telling you how sorry I am, I'll do it. If there's anything you want me to do to prove my sincerity, whatever it is, I'll do it. Because I don't think I can spend another day knowing you're hurting and that I caused it. I'm sorry, Kate."

Rick saw a tear roll down her cheek and he reached up and brushed it away with his thumb. Resting a hand upon the same cheek, his thumb rubbed lightly up and down. He licked his lips and locked gazes with her. Suddenly her eyes flicked quickly down to his lips and then back up.

Then, she was on him.

Her mouth locked with his and her arms twined around his neck. Startled as he was, he swiftly recovered by slamming his eyes shut and pulling her close to him. Never in his life had he felt something like this before. Sure, he'd kissed plenty of ladies, but none could even come close to comparing to Kate. He was pretty certain that it couldn't get any better than this. Of course, though, she had to prove him wrong.

His mouth opened slightly, but that was just enough for Kate to slip her tongue in there. The spark that had lit when their mouths first came together, had now escalated into a blazing fire. Grabbing the back of her neck with one hand, he reached up and yanked on the pins in her hair. As wave after wave fell down from their restraints, Rick buried his hands in them. He was half expecting her to break off their kiss and scold him for messing up her hair. Any other lady would have, but then again any other lady would not have kissed like Katherine Beckett was currently doing. Actually, it seemed that this only spurred her on.

They came apart gasping for air, but as quickly as they had separated, Kate yanked him back and fastened her mouth on his once more. _Breathe through your nose, _Rick told himself. _Don't die of lack of oxygen, breathe through your—good God, was that a moan I just heard?_

Indeed it was. As their tongues danced in their mouths, Kate let a throaty moan slip out every now and then. Breaking away from her mouth, Rick let his lips trail down her jaw and onto her neck. Tilting her head to one side, Kate gave him more access. As he licked and sucked lightly on her flushed skin, she moved one of her hands to grip his hair, holding him in place.

If anyone were to walk outside and see them, they would completely scandalized. Acts of affection that they were displaying right now were meant to be shown in one's home in the bedroom, _not_ in the palace courtyard. She would be shunned from Court and become more of an outcast than she already was and he would have publicly shamed both himself and the Hamptons throne. Yet neither participant could find it in themselves to care.

Being careful to not leave a mark, Rick moved to the other side of her neck, giving it the same attention as the previous side.

Kate felt like she was being consumed in a fire. Every nerve in her body was tingling and her desire for the man in front of her couldn't be tamped down. Tugging on his hair, she guided Rick's lips back to her own. She pushed forward suddenly which caused the two of them to fall back….

Straight into the fountain.

The both yelped as they hit the cold water, falling off the ledge they had forgotten they'd been sitting on. Sputtering and gasping for air, Rick wiped water from his eyes and slicked his hair back. Staring at the woman he had just been feverishly kissing, he saw she was doing the same thing. When she looked at him, he did something that she did not expect. He laughed.

He roared with laughter as Kate lifted an eyebrow at him. After a few seconds, she, too, began chuckling which then turned into full-on side-splitting laughter.

A wide grin still in place, she splashed water at him. "Way to go, doofus," she said. "Look what you did."

He put a hand to his chest in mock offense. "What _I_ did? May I remind you, it was _you_ who pushed into me, causing us both to fall."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have lost your balance," she told him.

"I'm sorry, but I seemed to have been preoccupied and a little distracted with something," he said waggling his eyebrows.

Blushing, Kate looked at him sincerely. With a soft voice she said, "You're forgiven."

Rick knew she wasn't talking about what he just said. As he smiled at her, he realized where they still were. Getting to his feet, he held out a hand to Kate, who took it gratefully, and helped her out of the fountain. Seeing her shiver, he said, "I'd offer you my jacket, but it seems to be just as cold and wet as we are."

Snorting, Kate said, "It's okay, Rick. I'll be fine."

"No, you won't. Not if we stay out here any longer."

"Well, we can't go inside. What if someone sees us like this?" she asked.

He thought about that for a moment. "How about this? We sneak around to the palace stables and I take you home on a horse; it's but short distance to your house. I can ask a servant to find your parents and tell them you were feeling ill so found a ride home and left the carriage for them."

She pondered the idea and supposed it was really their only option. "Alright, fine. But your hands stay _on the reins_ the entire ride there. Understood? No wandering."

"I'll have you know, Katherine Beckett, that I am a complete and utter gentleman," he said with mock indignation.

"Uh huh," she said dryly. "Need I remind you of what you were doing that caused us to become soaking wet?"

"No, no you do not."

"Well, then. Lead the way."

As they began walking, Rick fidgeted. "My pants are starting to ride up and chafe in some _very_ uncomfortable spots."

"Oh my God, Rick."

**I should have the next chapter up pretty soon, but feel free to fill my email with new reviews, follows, or favorites.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters.**

**A/N: I sincerely apologize for making you all wait this long for an update. I've been extremely busy these past couple weeks and I'm afraid it'll only get slightly worse so just hang in there with me. Your continued support and encouragement throughout this story is the main reason I keep writing new chapters for you guys. Thank you so much.**

Sneaking into the stables proved to be easier than Kate thought it would be. Because of the festivities commencing inside the grand hall, most of the servants in the palace were in there walking around with trays of food or drink, offering them to people. Hardly anyone was in sight, but Kate still insisted they use several side hallways to minimize the chance that a wanderer from the party should see them.

Once inside the stables, Rick led her over to a beautiful chestnut gelding. Telling her to stay there, he fetched the horse's tack from a large shed. As he was about to start saddling the horse, Kate said, "Can I do it?"

Looking at her with a surprised expression, he told her, "I didn't know you knew how to saddle a horse."

"Rick, the thing's you don't know about me, could fill a book," she retorted. "And, yes, I do know how to do this. I know how to ride as well. I actually like to race when I can with a couple of my friends. I believe you were talking to two of them earlier: Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan."

Lifting an eyebrow, he said, "Why, Kate, I didn't know that you were watching me so closely tonight."

Realizing her slip, Kate tried to backpedal. "I, uh—well, I wasn't—I just might have…spotted you with them so…."

He gave her a look. "Mhm. You want to try to make that sound more convincing?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm good." Glancing around, she said, "We should probably get moving before anyone sees us out here. You go find a servant to deliver that message you made up to my parents while I get the horse ready. You remember what you said, right?"

"Of course. Have a servant tell Johanna and James Beckett that their daughter wasn't feeling well so she got a ride home with a friends and left the carriage for them."

"Good, now get going."

"As the lady says." Rick bowed slightly then wheeled about and went in search of a stray servant to deliver his message.

Chuckling and shaking her head at his ridiculousness, Kate went to work. She was nearly an expert at putting tack on a horse. When she'd had lessons as a child, she demanded that they teach her to take care of her own horse and not just leave it to the stablehands. She also refused to learn only sidesaddle riding. If she was going to own a horse, then she was going to learn to ride it the _real_ way.

Smiling to herself, she recalled her father's reaction to her stubbornness. He'd nearly had a heart attack! Her mother, on the other hand, only encouraged her to pursue whatever she wished to do. Jim Beckett had taken some convincing, but eventually he realized that his little girl was a polar opposite to other girls her age. Where they'd wanted to learn sewing and housework, she had wanted to learn how to race horses and archery. Archery, though, was among the many talents she kept secret from everyone, but those who lived on the Beckett estate.

Finished saddling and bridling the horse, she was lost in her thoughts. Absent mindedly stroking the horse's neck, she failed to notice that Rick had returned. A throat clearing from behind her, alerted her to his presence. Looking at him, she saw adoration written all over his face.

"You ready to go?" he asked her. "I don't necessarily think you want to be standing here in that wet dress much longer."

"You know, it _is_ getting kind of uncomfortable, now that you mention it," she said. Grinning, he grabbed the horse's reins and led the two of them out of the stables.

When they were outside, he helped Kate into the saddle, saying, "You know you're going to have to ride side addle, right?"

"I know," she grumbled. As he was about to pull himself up behind her, she suddenly gasped. "What about the guards outside the palace gate? They're obviously going to see us!"

"Kate, calm down. They're not going to care the least little bit that we're leaving. Their job is to keep things out, not in so they really won't pay all that much attention to us. They'll forget us the moment we're out of sight." He swung himself up on the horse's back and settled his arms around her so that he could grab the reins. Kicking the horse's sides lightly, they set off.

It turned out that Rick was right: the guards at the gate didn't even give them a passing glance as they rode out. Kate let go of the breath she didn't realize she had been holding.

Both were silent for several minutes, content to just be in each other's company. Eventually, Kate broke the silence. "Why did you pick _this_ horse? Why not any others?"

"Because," Rick explained, "he's actually mine. I'm not a huge fan of riding in a carriage, so I decided to take my own horse."

"Why a gelding? Don't most princes want to break their own stallion to show some manly display of dominance or something like that?"

"That's true, but I chose this guy a couple years back because I like dependability in a horse better than the unnecessary hassle that comes with unbroken stallions."

"That makes sense, I guess," she responded.

"Do you mind if we go a bit faster?" he asked her. "That way we can reach your house a lot sooner." At her go ahead, he nudged his horse into a trot followed by a canter. Holding onto Kate tightly, he was mindful of where his hands rested. They may have shared an…intimate moment back in the courtyard, but that didn't mean he wouldn't respect her wish that he not let his hands stray. It was slightly difficult and a tad bit uncomfortable going so fast with Kate sitting sidesaddle in front of him, but he didn't care so long as he got her home quicker.

The rest of the ride was spent in silence, neither feeling the need to speak. They covered the short distance to the Beckett house in a matter of minutes. Upon arrival, Rick slowed the horse back to a walk and stopped him in front of the house. Sliding down from the saddle, he held out a hand to aid Kate off the horse. Tying his horse to a post, he walked Kate to her front door.

"I guess this is goodbye. For now, at least," Rick said.

She hesitated, thinking a moment. Coming to a decision, she told him, "It doesn't have to be goodbye just yet." When he tilted his head to the side in a silent question, she added, "You could come in for a few minutes."

His face lit up with mischief. "I'm being permitted to see the inside of the Beckett mansion? Yes, please!" he exclaimed.

She rolled her eyes as she led him inside. "I wouldn't exactly call it a 'mansion.'"

"Maybe not, but it _is_ rather large, and that's coming from _me_!" he replied.

"What's the matter, Rick?" she teased. "Not used to seeing _large_ things?"

He scoffed. "Oh, please. I've seen _plenty_ of large things in my day." Realizing what that sounded like, he tried to take it back. "Not in that I—I'm not—" he sighed exasperatedly. "You know what I meant."

She didn't even bother trying to hide her amusement. "God, you're so easy, Rick," she told him before beginning her ascent up the staircase. Halting on the fifth step, she cast a look back at him, still standing in his same spot. "You coming?"

Caught off guard, all he could say was, "W-What?"

"Come on, Rick. I'm not going to have you stand there in the entrance with the odd chance that someone stumbles upon you. So _you_ are getting the once in a lifetime opportunity to come into my bedroom. Are you just going to stand there, or what?" Closing his jaw that had at some point fell open, he hurried up the stairs after her.

She weaved her way down a few long hallways and past many doors before stopping at one, opening it, and pushing him inside ahead of her. Closing the door behind her, she pointed to a chair that sat in a random corner of the room and ordered him, "Sit."

Doing as he was commanded, he remarked, "Your bedroom isn't what I expected it to be."

"And what exactly did you think it would look like?"

"I don't know. Full of spikes and objects you use to torture other gentlemen with," he said with a shrug.

Waving a hand at a door to his right, she said, "No. That's all in the other room next to you." The lighting of several candles that were spaced throughout the room caused the room to brighten dramatically. Their shadows still danced along the walls from the flickering of the flames. Rick saw Kate pick up a candle holder and carried it over to a dressing screen that was set up. Suddenly a question popped into his head.

"Kate? Where are all your servants and maids? Shouldn't they be up until you and your parents returned home?"

"They should, yes, but my mother ordered them to all go to sleep considering that we probably wouldn't have been back until late. She didn't see a reason for them to have to wait up for us when we're all perfectly capable of getting ourselves ready for bed on our own."

"I've never heard of a noble treating their servants like that before," he said. "Your mother sounds like a generous and kind lady."

"She is," Kate replied. "You'd definitely like her, Rick. She's got your sense of humor."

He smiled. "Well, I hope to meet her one day soon."

"Because that's just what I need: my mother and my…whatever you are, teaming up against me."

" 'My whatever you are'? I thought we were at least close enough to be considered friends," he told her.

"Friends don't do…the things we were doing earlier," she informed him.

"And what exactly _were_ we doing earlier, Kate?" His voice had dropped an octave lower and a shudder nearly ran through her body. God, what that voice did to her. Not to mention the memories that were reappearing in her mind.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she said, "Nothing that we're going to be doing again, anytime soon."

Stepping behind the dressing screen, she reached behind her and tried for a few minutes to unlace her dress. _Damn it,_ she thought. Sighing with frustration, she gave up and called out, "Rick?"

"Yes?"

"This might sound awkward, but could you come here and help me unlace this dress?"

Hearing him get up from his seat and walk over to the screen, she stepped out from behind it. Turning so her back was to him, she swept her hair over one shoulder to keep it out of his way. Sensing his hesitation, she encouraged, "It's alright, Rick. I need your help. You can touch me, I'm not going to snap at you for it."

Finally he began to unlace the dress. Slowly. He was afraid that if he went too fast he'd end up ripping the dress completely off and taking her to bed. No, he needed to be in control. Kate Beckett was a lady and deserved nothing less than his complete respect.

Little did he know that the woman whose dress he was currently unlacing was having just as difficult a time in controlling her thoughts and actions as he was. He may have left a respectful distance in between his and her bodies, but Kate could still feel his hot breath on her neck. The tension was high and thick. _How do we always manage to find ourselves in situations like this?_ she thought to herself.

He was already done the first half of the laces and had begun working on the second half, when Kate decided that she'd had enough. Spinning around, Kate grabbed his face in her hands and dragged his mouth down to hers.

Once again startled by her kissing him, it didn't take him nearly as long as the first time to recover. Their mouths moved together and he placed his hands on her hips. Moving forward, he slammed her back into the wall that was a few feet behind her.

Never breaking their kiss, his hands slid up her sides, feeling her curves through the material of the dress. She nipped at his bottom lip and he groaned into her mouth. Coming up for air, Rick slid his hands to the back of her thighs and hoisted her up. Pushing up her dress so that she could wrap her long legs around his waist, he attached his mouth to her collarbone.

Kate moaned as pleasure and desire coursed through her. There was a fire blazing in her stomach and every new kiss, lick, or suck only served to fan the flames higher and higher. This time, she could feel, Rick wasn't going to hold back. He didn't seem to care if he left a mark or not. And quite frankly at this point, neither did she. She tossed her head back and it thudded against the wall. "Rick," she moaned as he found a particularly sensitive spot beneath her ear.

When he set her feet down on the ground again, she pushed on him so that he was walking backwards, first checking real quick to see if they had a clear path. Pulling off his still wet jacket, leaving him only in a nice shirt, she fiddled with the top button of his shirt. She hadn't noticed how far they'd walked across her room until Rick had actually spun them and the backs of her knees hit her bed. Rick laid her down gently, still peppering kisses all over her neck.

Kate brought her hands up to tangle in his short hair. Pulling his head back, she slid her hands to his cheeks and cradled his face. His blue eyes were staring down at her, filled with so many feelings that she wasn't ready to talk about just yet. Bringing his mouth back down to hers, they kissed slowly. Whereas their previous kisses had all been rushed and frenzied, brimming with passion and the release of tension, this one was soft and—dare she say—loving. This man made her feel things that she'd felt for no other before.

Removing her hands from his face, she reached down and untucked his shirt from his pants. Her hands found their way under his shirt and she ran them all across Rick's back, feeling the hard muscles move under every caress. Lightly scratching her nails on the skin near his waist, she heard him moan her name. Moving her hands to the top buttons on his shirt, her dexterous fingers had two undone before he began a trail of wet kisses down her throat to exposed part of her upper chest.

Gasping, Kate lost her concentration and could only focus on how close his lips were to her covered breasts. "Oh God," she breathed out in pleasure."

Distracted as they were, it's understandable how they didn't hear two others come into the room until one of the newcomers gasped and yelled, "Katie?!"

Snapping her head up to look at the others in the room, Kate nearly fainted. "Mom?! Dad?!"

**So how did you guys like it? What did you think? This was the first time I've ever written anything more than a simple kissing scene so I hope it was okay.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Shout out to my 100****th**** reviewer, BamfCaskett. I still can't believe that I actually made it to that number!**

**A/N 2: A big thanks to those of you who reviewed, followed, and favorited as well as those of you who are so understanding with the busy schoolwork situation I've been in. Also, for a lot of this story, I'm bending old-fashioned rules and norms to suit my needs so try not to wonder about the accuracy of proper etiquette and things like that too much. Try to just go with the flow at times. Enjoy this next chapter!**

Johanna Beckett was at a complete and utter loss for words. Rarely was she ever rendered speechless, but at this particular moment in time, the woman had absolutely no idea what to say or even do.

After receiving a message from a servant that their daughter was not feeling well and had gotten a ride home with a friend, she and Jim had decided that they should go home, too, in order to check on her. Arriving in the carriage, they'd found an unfamiliar horse hitched to a post outside their front door. Climbing the stairs and winding down a few hallways, the two had paused outside Kate's room. There were strange sounds coming from inside that sounded a lot like groans. Figuring that Kate was just in pain, they simply walked in, as the door was unlocked, only to find their only daughter being straddled in her own bed by a half-undressed man who was kissing her quite intimately.

Johanna registered her husband's incredulous yell of their daughter's name, but could only stare. Never before in her life had she been so shocked as she was now. Sure, Kate had always been more wild and less uptight than her friends at Court, but this was taking it to a whole new level.

She saw the man over her daughter quickly get up and re-button and tuck in his shirt. Kate sat up on the bed, but made no move to re-do the laces that had been pulled loose in the back of her dress.

The stranger turned around to face them and the older woman recognized him as Prince Richard. _My, my, my, what do we have here?_ she thought mischievously. _I wonder how Katie went from hating him to…this._

Out of the corner of her eye, Johanna could see that her husband's jaw was tightly clenched. His eyes were wide and had a glint of fury in them. Now, Jim Beckett was not normally a violent man. He was usually calm and very collected, hardly ever letting his temper show because he just never liked anger. Where his daughter was concerned, though, he would push the entire kingdom into an active volcano if they touched her.

_ I better do something before he kills Prince Richard with his bare hands,_ Johanna thought to herself. Wrapping her hand around her husband's arm and dragging him out the door, she called over her shoulder, "Living room. 2 minutes. Both of you." Her tone gave no room for argument.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Once her parents had left her room, Kate collapsed onto the bed. Putting her head in hands, she said, "Oh God, Rick, what are we going to do?" When he didn't respond, she glanced at him and said, "Rick?"

He was still standing in the same spot, staring at the place where her father had been. Snapping his head to look at her, he blinked and said, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"Where did you go just now?" she asked him.

"I was just wondering why your father hasn't strangled me," he replied.

Sighing, she told him, "Oh don't think you're safe yet. He just might do that when we go downstairs. He's slightly…_protective_ when it comes to me. Which also begs the question: what are we going to do?"

Seeing that she was on the verge of panic, Rick knelt down in front of her and took her delicate hands in his two very large ones. "Hey now, calm down. You know what we're going to do? We're going to keep our heads high, march downstairs, and explain to your parents that what we were doing wasn't wrong. Because I want to be with you and I would hope by now that you want to be with me."

Looking at him mildly shocked, she asked, "You want to be with me?"

"Of course, I do." Placing his left hand on her right cheek, he said, "This is more than just some fling for me, Kate. I want to be with you. I want to be able to hold your hand in public and take you on long strolls through the gardens." He smiled. "I want to race horses with you and meet all your friends. I want to be able to kiss you whenever I want to and hold you close, never letting you go."

Unshed tears were shining brightly in her eyes. The sincerity of his words had hit her like a brick wall. Never before had someone made her feel so wanted and loved. She had a strange feeling that Rick would be the only man that ever could. Leaning in, she kissed him softly.

Pulling apart after a moment, he stood and told her, "Now, let's go down there and confront your parents."

Taking a deep breath and then releasing it, Kate allowed Rick to pull her to her feet. Walking into the hallway, she heard Rick say, "Stay in front of me, though. Your father won't hesitate to kill me, but with you in the way, I might stand a chance."

Laughing quietly, she said, "Wow, how chivalrous of you."

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Jim Beckett sat on a couch in the living room, feeling very old all of a sudden. He had just walked in on his daughter being…_intimate_ with a man. At first, his mind had cleared of everything but fury. His little girl had been pinned to the bed with that man kissing her in places he should never even look! His wife had dragged him out of the room and downstairs before he'd done anything drastic, and now they were both waiting for their daughter and the man to make an appearance. He had seen the man's face and would've been either stupid or blind not to recognize him. It was Prince Richard.

Running a hand across his face, he sighed heavily. He had no idea what to do. He was pretty sure that his wife, who always had a solution for everything, had no idea what to do, either. His anger had abated for the most part, so now he was just left waiting for his daughter. Waiting and wondering about what to do.

He heard the footsteps descending the staircase and glanced sharply to his right. Kate and the Prince walked slowly towards them. If the situation was so serious, Jim would have laughed. Kate was walking practically pulling Prince Richard into the room. He was ashen and looked extremely nervous. If Jim didn't know any better, he'd have thought the man was walking to his grave. His daughter, however, had the brave face on. He saw determinedness and fire in her eyes. Her face was set and she was ready. This was the Kate that Jim saw whenever she wanted something and was ready to persuade them into letting her have her way.

Knowing that he had to gain ground on the two before his daughter opened her mouth, Jim put on his "disapproving father" glare, pointed to two chairs sitting a foot apart in front of him, and ordered, "Sit."

They both did as directed, one in each chair. Kate was staring him down while the Prince couldn't even make eye contact. His head was down and he was slightly fidgeting with his hands. _He's scared,_ Jim observed. _As he should be._

When Kate's mouth opened to speak, he cut her off. "Just what the hell did you think you were doing with my daughter?" he asked Rick.

The Prince's eyes went wide and he stammered, "I, uh, I was—I didn't mean to—she, um—"

Rolling her eyes, Kate interjected, "He was kissing me, Dad. I'm pretty sure you know what that is."

Both men looked at her startled. Her mother, sitting on the couch beside Jim, put a hand over her mouth in order to hide the grin that was forming. Johanna was slightly upset at walking in on her daughter in such a compromising position, but she still found the humor in the current situation.

"Katie, I was asking _him_," Jim gestured to Rick.

"But, Dad, I know you. You're going to act all mean and angry, trying to intimidate him, just like you did with Tom and Josh."

"Tom and Josh?" Rick echoed. "Who are they? You never mentioned a Tom and Josh before."

Looking at him, Kate said flatly, "Really? You're going to get jealous _now?_ Of all times?"

Rick shrugged. "I'm just saying that it would've been nice to know about them."

"Yeah, maybe another time, Rick," she told him.

Clearing his throat very loudly, Jim brought their focus back to him. Johanna, he could see, was having trouble containing her laughter. _Great to know whose side _she's_ on, _he thought miserably. This time, it was his daughter's turn to cut _him_ off as he was about to speak.

"Look, Dad. I know what you and Mom walked in on wasn't exactly a pretty sight for the two of you. You saw your little girl being taken advantage of by an older man, a prince nonetheless. The reality of it is, though, is that I was the one who started it. _I _kissed _him_ first. And you may think that what we were doing was inappropriate, but quite frankly, I'd have to disagree. I'm not a little girl anymore and I've finally found someone who makes me feel special. Neither Tom nor Josh every made me feel like that, like I'm actually worth something."

Ignoring the two other sets of eyes in the room, Rick reached across the distance that separated him and Kate and grasped her hand. Rubbing his thumb over her knuckles, he said softly, "If they couldn't make you feel like that, then they weren't deserving of you. Hell, I'm not even sure that _I'm_ deserving of you. You're far too extraordinary and wonderful and magnificent for someone like me, but the fact that you actually want to be with me is astounding."

"It's not astounding, Rick," Kate informed him. "And you must have it backwards. _You're_ too good for _me._" She looked down at their joined hands. "You're a prince—royalty—and I'm just some noble lady you met at a party once."

"But you're so much more than that, Kate," he insisted. "You blow me away with how breathtaking you really are. You're smart, funny, and absolutely amazing. I don't care that I'm royalty and you're not. I don't care that we live in separate kingdoms." Placing two fingers under her chin, he lifted her head up so that she could look at him. "I just want you," he told her.

The two had forgotten that they were not alone, and all of this transpired while Jim and Johanna Beckett looked on. It didn't take a genius to see how clearly in love Rick and Kate were even if they weren't ready to admit it yet. Jim looked at his wife and they had a silent conversation. The older man sighed internally. _I'm going to end up regretting this, I just know it,_ he thought.

He interrupted the Prince and Kate's moment by coughing once to bring them back to reality. Snapping their heads toward him, both turned red from embarrassment. He saw Prince Richard remove his fingers from under his daughter's chin, but continued to hold on to her hand. Gone was the scared little boy who had hid behind his daughter. Replacing him, was a regal prince who knew what he wanted and was determined to get it.

Stroking his chin, Jim came to a decision. "Do the two of you wish to be together?" he asked them. Both nodded. "And if I were to say no to that, what would you do?"

Kate spoke. "I'd still be with him. I'm 22, Dad, I'm old enough to make my own decisions about _my_ life."

Jim had expected that response from her. Raising an eyebrow at Rick, he asked, "And you? What would be your response to my refusal?"

"I would be respectful of your decision, sir, and I would leave your house at once. But, sir, I don't, nor will I ever, control Kate so what she does is up to her. If she chose to come with me, I wouldn't turn her away. Nor would I hate her is she chose to stay here. I would never make her choose between myself and her family."

Looking at them with calculating eyes, Jim saw that what they said was true. Turning to his wife, he saw her give him a look that screamed, "Just let them be together, Jim!" Nodding his head, the older man said, "Okay then. You may be together." He quickly added, "_But,_ Prince Richard, you must court my daughter in an proper manner. I don't ever want to find out that the two of you have been acting like you were upstairs. Understood?"

They nodded their head excitedly, smiles slowly spreading across their faces.

"Good." He stood up and approached Rick. The younger man hastily got to his feet and shook the hand that Jim held out to him. "If you hurt my daughter—if you lie to her again or break her heart—prince or no prince, I'll snap your neck like a twig."

Rick nodded in understanding. "I would never hurt her, sir. She deserves to be given the entire world, and that's exactly what I plan to try to do."

"Very well, then, Prince Richard, I think it's time you went back to your party. They'll have probably noticed your absence by now."

"It's Rick, sir. I don't much like the use of my royal title or even my full name, unless it's from my mother."

"Of course—Rick."

Kate stood from her chair and announced, "I'll walk you out, Rick."

Bidding farewell to her parents, he followed Kate out the front door.

Watching them go and wanting to go after them, Jim suddenly felt a hand on his arm. Seeing that it was Johanna, he commented, "You were awfully quiet during that whole discussion."

Johanna hummed in agreement. "Well, there wasn't much for me to say. I was already willing to give them a chance so you were the only one who needed persuasion. And I knew that Katie would convince you. She always does." Walking away, she climbed the stairs.

Muttering to himself, Jim reluctantly strode after her. Why did she always have to be right?

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

As Kate and Rick stopped by his horse, Rick asked her, "So when can I see you next?"

She chuckled. "I'd have thought that you would've seen enough of me for an entire week."

"Never," was the response.

Biting her bottom lip, she asked, "The rumor is, is that King Robert is planning on having a ball every night this week to celebrate you coming here. Is that true?"

"Yes, I do believe he mentioned something of the like earlier today."

"Well then, tomorrow night is when you'll next see me," she replied.

Rick took a step closer to her. "Why can't I stop by tomorrow morning? Why do I have to wait until the ball?"

"Because I'm exhausted and I want to sleep in tomorrow morning."

He grinned. "You know, I just remembered that we're both still soaking wet from falling into that fountain yet your parents said nothing about it."

"They were probably too focused on the fact that your shirt was nearly off and you were kissing my—"

"—Breasts?"

"Chest. You were kissing my chest," she huffed out.

He laughed and she whacked him lightly. As they fell into silence, Kate gazed up at him, and he down at her. This time, both leaned in and closed the distance between their lips. It wasn't fast and frenzied or filled with raw tension like their previous ones. This was slow and languid, like they had all the time in the world. Nipping at her bottom lip, Rick pulled back and told her, "I should go."

Sighing, Kate released him and let him untie his horse from the post and hoist himself into the saddle. Wheeling the gelding about, he said, "I'll be sure to keep an eye out during tomorrow's ball. Wouldn't want to miss your big entrance." Rick winked at her and then clucked at his horse to move.

Kate watched him trot away. Once he disappeared from sight, she turned and trudged off to bed. Her wet clothes were starting to irritate her and taking them off had been such a relief. Pulling on her nightdress, Kate practically fell into bed. _I wonder what tomorrow will bring,_ she thought and then fell asleep.

**Thank you for reading this. It turns out that I'm writing more than just a few chapters like I had originally said I would do. Feel free to review, follow, or favorite.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks a bunch for the reviews, follows, and favorites. I think this is my longest chapter yet so I hope you like it.**

The next evening, Rick was nervous and anxious. He didn't know what to expect from tonight. Kate's father had given him permission to court her and the two were on good terms again, but those facts did nothing to abate the butterflies rolling around in his stomach. He was pacing the length of his bedroom. The ball would be officially starting within the next half hour and he couldn't wait to see Kate.

For the most part, he was already dressed in one of the finest outfits he had packed. The only thing that remained to be put on was his jacket. Rick sat down on the bed and ran a hand over his face, calming his nerves.

"Geez, calm down_,_" he ordered himself. "It's not like this is the first time you'll be spending the night with her." Realizing what he'd just said out loud, he corrected, "No, don't go there, Rick. You didn't mean it like that. You're just nervous—"

He broke off his sentence. "And now you're talking to yourself like a crazy person. Great." There was a knock on his door. "Enter," he commanded.

A servant appeared in the doorway and told him, "Your Highness, the ball will be starting soon. Their Majesties require your presence in the ballroom."

Sighing, Rick put his jacket on and followed closely behind the servant as he led him away.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

It had been nearly a full hour since the official start of the ball. Many were dancing while others stood off to the side talking amongst themselves. Some leaned against the walls, carefully sipping from champagne glasses. Servants bustled about, carrying trays with various food and drink, both alcoholic and non. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Everyone, that is, except for Prince Richard.

He was moping. And he knew it, too. He didn't mingle and talk with anyone. He didn't want to, not until _she_ showed up. It had been an hour and he was beginning to worry that she wouldn't actually show up. Granted, there were still plenty of people pouring in and showing up late—there was nothing new or surprising about that—but that did nothing to quell his worries.

So lost in his thoughts was he, that he almost missed the herald announcing quite loudly, "Lord James Beckett, Lady Johanna Beckett, and Lady Katherine Beckett!"

Rick immediately straightened up in the chair he was sitting in and snapped his head towards the entrance where he caught the first glimpse of her that night. It amazed him how he always found himself speechless and awestruck every time he looked at her. He saw her scan the room and finally lock her eyes with his. Smiles dawned on both their faces and the Prince stood up from his seat. He smoothed the wrinkles from his clothes and made his way to where Kate was standing with her parents.

When he approached them, Jim bowed while Johanna and Kate curtsied. "Please, don't do that," he told them. "It just feels uncomfortable for me to watch the three of you treat me like that."

"Why do you think we did it, Rick?" Kate asked him. She had a sly grin on her face.

"Oh, ha ha, very funny," he said. "You did that just to make me feel awkward, didn't you?"

"Of course."

He narrowed his eyes slightly. "That's not funny, Kate."

"Oh c'mon, yes it was," she said.

"No, it wasn't."

"Yes, it was."

"Nope."

"Yes."

"Not even the slightest bit."

"You know that—"

A throat beside them cleared, cutting her off. Both turned to look at an amused looking Jim and Johanna Beckett. "As much as I would love to stand here all night and watch the two of you bicker and banter, Jo and I are going to dance."

"Wonderful," Rick exclaimed. "We'll join you on the floor."

"We will?" Kate looked confused.

"Well I came over here to greet you and to ask you to dance, but if you'd rather do something else, then we can," he explained.

"No, no, that's alright. Let's go." She took his hand and led him onto the giant dance floor.

Luck would have it that the current song was just ending and the musicians were preparing to play another. Rick placed a hand on her hip while the other held one of her own hands. Keeping a reasonable amount of space in between their bodies, they began to move to the sound of the music.

After a minute, Kate noticed that something was off about her surroundings. Glancing right then left, she saw that all of the other couples had ceased their dancing and practically all eyes were on herself and Rick. She observed that many of the young ladies were watching with envy while their mothers looked on with a hint of fury.

"Rick," she whispered to her dancing partner.

"Yes?"

"Everybody's staring at us."

"Hmm, you're quite observant, aren't you?" he said, the sarcasm barely present in his voice.

"Don't make me hit you," she warned. "Why are they staring at us, though?"

She felt him shrug. "It's probably because you're with me. You have to remember, not everybody treats me the same way you do. Right now they're seeing Katherine Beckett, the young lady at Court with no interest in marriage or men, and Prince Richard, heir to the throne of Hamptons. They don't see Kate and Rick like we, or your parents, do."

"I guess you're right," was her response.

"Of course I'm right," he told her. "When have I ever misled you?" She raised an eyebrow and gave him an incredulous look. He rolled his eyes. "Well, besides _that._"

"Okay. What about last night when we were in my room and my parents walked in on you on top of me?"

"Come on, Kate. I did _not_ mislead you with that one."

"And why not?" she inquired.

"Because _you_ were the one who kissed me first…_both_ times last night, if I recall correctly," he replied.

She blushed. "I think you might've hit your head when we fell in the fountain because I don't remember that at all."

"If memory serves me right, it was _your_ kiss that actually caused us to fall into said fountain!" he retorted.

Kate's jaw opened and closed a couple times before she finally clamped it shut. Having nothing to say, she opted to stay silent.

Rick leaned in close, his lips brushing against her ear. "I win," he whispered victoriously.

"I hate you," she said quietly.

Twirling her and then dipping her low, he said, "No, you don't," with a smirk on his handsome face.

As he pulled her back up, she sighed. "Well, I used to."

"And how did that work out for you?"

She shook her head. "Here is not the place for that discussion."

Rick's hand slid to the small of her back and pulled her close to him. "Then take me to the place that is," he told her softly. As he said this, the music tapered off and their dance came to an end. Kate curtsied politely, then Rick gently laid a kiss on her hand and bowed.

When he straightened, she whispered so that only he could hear her say, "Meet me in the gardens in ten minutes. There's a bench by a statue of an angel; I'll be waiting there."

Before he could nod in his acknowledgement, she was already walking off, headed for the doors. He plastered a charming smile on his face and went to occupy himself for the next several minutes. In doing so, the spell that everyone had been under, lifted and they went about their own business, gossiping about the Prince and his latest dance companion.

Just as Kate was about to reach the doors, a hand grabbed a hold of her arm and yanked her off to the side. Whipping her head around, she saw that it was her best friend, Lanie.

The other woman was dark-skinned and young. She was a few inches shorter than Kate and her black, medium-length hair was pulled back into an elegant bun. She, like Kate, preferred dresses that didn't limit movement, or breathing. Her normally gentle brown eyes were now wide with unasked questions.

"Girl, what was _that?_" she asked.

"What do you mean?" Kate replied.

"Don't you 'What do you mean?' me. I'm not an idiot. What the hell were you doing with the Prince?"

The other woman sighed. "It's a long story, Lanie."

Lanie raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, waiting for more of an explanation. "Katherine Beckett, you're gonna have to do better than that if you wanna shake me loose."

"God, Lanie, can't this wait?"

"No."

Kate groaned. "You're so irritating sometimes."

"Mmhmm, you should see it from my point of view sometime," her friend retorted. "Now, tell me what's going on between you and that ruggedly handsome man of yours."

The taller woman rolled her eyes at that. "Fine. But you're only getting the quick, short version. I can tell you more later."

"I can deal with that."

"So you remember when I visited my cousin and her family in Hamptons a few weeks ago? Well we went to a birthday celebration for the Prince and I ended up meeting a guy there. We danced and talked and ended up walking through the Palace gardens, which are absolutely gorgeous by the way. I forget how much time had passed, but after he showed me a secret spot that he went to all the time, we got interrupted by a gardener who called him 'Your Highness.' The guy turned out to be Prince Richard and I got really mad. I left and hadn't seen him until the other day when he arrived here. Last night we talked most of it out and I'm giving him a chance. After we finished dancing, though, I told him to meet me out in the gardens in ten minutes and that's where I was going when you stopped me." She closed her mouth and held her breath, waiting for her friend's response.

"Well, why are you letting me hold you up?" Lanie asked. "Go, wait for your man. Don't think for a second that we're not done with this conversation, though," she added.

Kate grinned and hugged her. "I would never. I'll be back inside in a little bit. Don't hold your breath, though."

"I won't." Lanie laughed. "I'm actually gonna go separate the boys over there for a few minutes. They look like they could use a time out."

Looking to where Lanie was, Kate saw Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan, her two other closest friends, in a heated argument. "That's probably wise. You might want to find Jenny and have her help you separate your fiancé and her husband."

The darker-skinned woman nodded and then said, "Now shoo. Go outside and enjoy yourself." Winking at her, she sashayed off, tossing over her shoulder, "Don't do anything _I_ wouldn't do!"

Kate shook her head at the ridiculousness of her best friend. Her last statement left very little for Kate to not do. Making her way to the gardens at last, she perched on the bench she'd mentioned to Rick. It wasn't very long before he arrived.

"Sorry, it took me a little longer than you said," he told her. "It's kind of hard getting away from the buzzards sometimes."

"Buzzards?" she asked amusedly.

"Yeah, you know, the old women with single daughters who circle constantly around an eligible bachelor, just waiting for their chance to swoop in and go for the kill," he explained.

She laughed. "Did one of those buzzards happen to have a daughter named Ellie Monroe?"

"Yes, why?"

"The Monroe family is notorious for marrying off their daughters to wealthy men only for the money and the perks that come with whomever the girl married. You, my dashing Prince, fit all of their requirements. The old lady is going to be on you like white on rice."

"Well, that's just—wait. Did you just call me 'dashing'?" he said.

Her laughter ceased and the grin on her face dropped. "No," she said too quickly.

"I think you did."

"Don't be ridiculous. Why would I _ever_ call you 'dashing'?" she asked.

"Because you think it's true," he responded. A smirk was growing on his face.

"You must be hearing things." She stood up from the bench and walked off.

He followed, saying, "I know I'm not, but for the sake of your obvious embarrassment, I'll let it slide."

Kate rolled her eyes. She'd been doing that so much, she felt like they were soon going to roll right out of her head! "You're just so full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Well, when a beautiful lady calls me 'dashing' I think I have every right to be so."

Kate halted her steps, feeling Rick come right up behind her. He was a warm presence at her back and she could feel his breath on her cheek as he bent down. _How does he go from so playful to so…romantic just like that?_ she wondered. Her breath hitched when his hands rested on both of her hips and fire began to light in her belly. _And how does he elicit such a response from me like this?_

Rick lowered his head another inch so that he could catch her earlobe between his teeth and give a light tug. He heard her gasp and felt her tilt her head to the opposite side so he could have more access. As she did this, he pulled away and, grinning deviously, told her, "Shall we walk around some more?" Leaving her to regain her surroundings, he strolled off down the path.

_ I'm gonna kill him. And soon,_ she thought. She caught up to him as he was eyeing the chrysanthemums. She watched as he stooped and plucked a white one from the ground.

"White chrysanthemum," he mused aloud. "It means truth, honesty." His eyes found hers and he held out the flower to her.

Kate took it and exhaled softly. She knew he was expecting them to have that discussion they never had while dancing.

"Did you really hate me?" he asked her quietly, almost timidly. There was sorrow, guilt, and fear and every other like emotion swirling in his clear blue eyes. "Was what I did—not telling you I was royalty—_so_ bad that it caused you to actually _hate me?_"

"Probably not," she admitted. "I don't think I ever necessarily _hated_ you. Did I not want to see nor talk to you? Of course, but I didn't hate you."

The Prince visibly relaxed when she said that. "I meant what I said last night. Anything and everything I told you was the truth. I'm still really sorry, though."

"No, Rick," she said. "Your time to be sorry is over. Now it's my turn. _I'm_ the one who's sorry. I overreacted and said many things that I regret. I treated you horribly yet you somehow still wanted to be with me. You may say that you don't deserve me, but really it's _I_ who doesn't deserve _you_."

"No, don't say that, Kate." The Prince took one of her hands in his. "I forgive you. Truly, I do. There's no one else I'd rather be with than you, whether it be today, tomorrow, or five years from now."

She smiled up at him. Leaning in, she closed her eyes, and chastely kissed his lips. Separating, she laid her forehead against his and told him, "Thank you. While my apology wasn't nearly as extensive nor eloquent as yours was, it still eases the guilt that I myself have been feeling for a while now." They lapsed into a comfortable silence for a moment before Kate broke it. "Oh, and Rick?"

"Yes?"

She pulled back and placed her hand on his jaw. "If you ever wish to be kissed again, you'll shave that thing off tomorrow morning."

He looked alarmed. "What do you mean? Are you talking about my beard?" He rubbed his hand over his chin.

"It's not a beard," she told him. "It's just over the limit of being scruff."

"Yes, but it took me a whole week to grow it."

"Does it look like I care about that? It's rough and scratchy when I kiss you so until it's off your face, I will be too."

"But it makes me look all tough and dashing." He flashed her a smile.

"Really? I thought it made you look ruggedly handsome," she said echoing Lanie's words from earlier.

He perked up at that. " 'Ruggedly handsome?' Oh, oh that's good. I'm going to start using that from now on. Do you think I can be introduced like that? 'The Ruggedly Handsome Prince Richard.' I think that has a nice ring to it. Don't you?"

Kate scoffed. "I honestly don't know if it's even possible for your ego to become more inflated than it already is."

He shrugged. "Only one way to find out."

"Yeah, how about we don't," she said.

"Fine, have it your way. But if the beard comes off, I won't be called that anymore."

"Yes, you will. Just, you know, not as often," she replied. Taking his hand, she led him down the path. "Come on, there's a spot of my own that I want you to see."

Kate took him down so many different paths, he didn't know if they'd ever be able to find their way out again. She turned left here, right there, then 2 more lefts and another right; go straight some more then yet again go right. It was all so confusing to him that he just put his faith completely in the woman in front of him, letting her lead the way. She'd said that their Palace gardens weren't nearly as large as the ones in Hamptons, but he would make a safe wager that they came pretty damn close.

After several minutes of silent walking, she finally stopped. In front of them was a giant fountain resembling the one in the courtyard from last night. This one, however, had carvings of flowers and vines all around the base and the water came spouting out of the center of the four different flower statues in the middle of it.

"How did you find this place?" he asked her.

"I got lost," she said simply. When he looked at her questioningly, she nodded in affirmation. "I was wandering around the gardens one day when I was like ten and next thing I knew, I was back here and didn't know how to get back. My mother found me after about an hour. You should've seen her, Rick, she was so terrified that she'd lost me. All I said was, 'Well, Mom, if you hadn't been so boring, maybe I wouldn't have felt the need to get lost.'"

"You didn't," he said.

"I did. And I'm proud of it too."

"You were just as snarky then as you are now, Kate," he said. "I'm impressed."

"Should I actually take that as a compliment?"

He thought about that for a moment. "I don't know. I think so."

She shook her head then went to walk around the fountain, Rick following closely at her side. He offered his arm and she took it, resting her head on his shoulder as they slowly circled the fountain base.

"Let's try to not fall in this time. I don't like swimming fully clothed like this," he remarked. He heard her chuckle lightly.

After they'd completed one rotation, Kate asked, "Why is it like this with you? Why do I feel so relaxed and at ease when you're around? I feel like the kingdom of Bracken could attack us right now and I wouldn't even care so long as you're with me right now."

"I have no idea. You may be calm, but I'm still nervous," he admitted.

Her brow furrowed, but she didn't lift her head. "Nervous?"

"Yeah. I've been nervous all day. I still am because I'm afraid of messing up or saying the wrong thing."

"Rick, I know I don't have the best reputation right now for not being dramatic, but I promise you that that's over. There's absolutely no reason to be nervous. And I don't make promises lightly." Silence descended upon them.

Kate had lost track of how many times they'd circled the fountain. Eventually, she asked, "So are there any other secrets I should be aware of? I'm pretty sure the whole Prince fiasco was probably your biggest one, but is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

When he didn't respond immediately, Kate took her head off his shoulder and stared curiously at him. He seemed to be contemplating something.

He took a deep breath and said quietly, "I write."

"What?"

Looking down at her, he repeated, "In my spare time, what little of it there is, I write."

She continued to stare at him, waiting for him to expand on his statement, but when he didn't she prompted, "What do you write about?"

"Anything, really. Any inspiration that strikes me, whatever I find to beautiful or stunning to just let go. I write it down. Most of the time, I don't just describe that thing, I tell stories about it, no matter how outlandish they may seem. I spin these wild and crazy tales that could never happen yet at the same time it almost seems like they actually could." His eyes landed on hers and he told her, "For the past three weeks, though, _you_, Kate, have been the only thing I've written about."

"Me?" she repeated incredulously.

"You," he confirmed. "I've filled pages and pages with various stories and descriptions of you. You were everywhere I looked. You consumed my every thought and I had to get you out of my head. So I wrote it down. For days, I sat at my desk, just writing about you: your beauty, your intelligence, your wit, your charm. I made up tales of how I thought you grew up based off of the little you told me." He hesitated. "I even have a story written about us. I know this might sound creepy, but that's how much you've been in my mind ever since we first met. Please don't be put off by my confession just now."

"Of course, I'm not put off, Rick," she said. "Oddly enough, I actually think it's kind of sweet and endearing. Is there any chance at all of me reading any of these?"

He smiled. "Of course. That somewhat leads to my next topic of discussion with you."

"What is it?" she asked.

He stopped walking and took Kate's hands in his. "Kate, I live in another kingdom. How are we going to make this work if you live here and I live there?"

She didn't know how to answer that. "I don't know. We'll be able to make it work, won't we?"

"You see, I don't think we will. It's just too far to travel between our kingdoms so we won't get to see each other very often, if at all."

"Then what are you suggesting?"

"I have an important question for you. One that could change both of our lives significantly." Kate watched Rick intently as he slowly bent down on one knee, kneeling before her.

_ Oh my God,_ she thought.

**Yikes! Another cliffhanger! I must be annoying you guys with all of them. Go ahead and review, follow, or favorite; whichever your heart desires.**


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